The Chatter: McConnell targeted by tea party; Paul vows to say in hunt for the White House

With House Speaker John Boehner stepping down some members of the GOP are calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to do the same. On Saturday Roger Villere, the chairman of the Louisiana GOP used a Facebook post to push for McConnell to hand in his resignation.

Villere posted this article from The Hill and said “McConnell needs to Resign!!”

Then in an interview with the Washington Times , Villere said that McConnell is hurting the Republican Party.

Villere isn’t the only one wanting McConnell to step down, Republican presidential candidate and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is also wanting McConnell to follow in Boehner’s footsteps, saying “Mitch McConnell, it’s your turn,” on Friday at the Values Voter Summit. When talking about Boehner’s resignation he said, “It is time to fire these clowns and restore order once and for all.”

It is not just McConnell’s colleagues who are unhappy with the Senator’s performance. In the most recent Gallup poll 41 percent of Americans said they see McConnell in an unfavorable light, 21 percent said they seem him favorably, while 37 percent said they have no opinion on him.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, is ducking questions about McConnell, on Monday the 2016 Republican presidential candidate declined to say whether he still supports his fellow Kentucky Republican. Paul appeared on Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom” where Fox host Bill Hemmer pressed Paul on whether he supported McConnell or not.

“What I support is the position that we should take the power of the purse and we should actually use it,” Paul said. “So I will oppose Sen. McConnell when he brings forward the continuing resolution. It isn’t about opposing a person, it’s about a position.”

Paul says he will stay in GOP presidential primary

Paul also appeared on CNN’s “New Day” Monday morning, where he spoke on his staying power in the fight for the GOP presidential nomination. Telling host Alisyn Camerota, “I’ll tell you this, I think we’ll be around just as long as Trump, or longer.”

Trump has been leading the polls since he announced he was running, even though Trump’s stock has tumbled in recent weeks, Paul is still nowhere close to the front runner in the polls, staying in the low single digits.

Paul is not discouraged though, saying “by no means am I finished: I’m just getting started.”